Context
Following the adoption of the Local Government Law, which requires all municipalities in Latvia to implement participatory budgeting from 2025, the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (MoSARD) developed a nationwide Participatory Budgeting Platform with support from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The platform was created as a shared digital support tool to ensure that all 42 municipalities – regardless of their size or administrative capacity – have equal opportunities to organise participatory budgeting project competitions in compliance with national legislation.
The platform enables municipalities to manage project competitions in a unified digital environment, while citizens can submit proposals, vote on initiatives, and explore territorial development projects implemented in other municipalities.
Objectives
The project addresses the problem of insufficient citizen involvement and trust in the municipal decision-making process. Its objective was to establish a secure, user-friendly and scalable digital infrastructure that supports municipalities in implementing participatory budgeting in line with the Local Government Law; reduces administrative and financial burden through a shared service model; strengthens transparency by publishing structured open data; and provides citizens with a meaningful opportunity to influence the allocation of part of the municipal budget.
Implementation
The project implementation was based on Articles 59–62 of the Local Government Law, which establish unified principles for participatory budgeting and mandate its introduction in all Latvian municipalities from 2025.
In the first phase, the implementation model and practical conditions were developed in close cooperation with municipalities and NGOs.
In the second phase, with support from the RRF, the Participatory Budgeting Platform was developed using a user-centred design approach. The process was iterative and included:
- conceptual development and user story definition
- interactive design prototypes and usability testing
- demonstrations, seminars, and working groups with municipalities
- continuous improvement after the platform launch.
MoSARD managed the project and defined business requirements. The State Digital Development Agency ensured ICT infrastructure, procurement, and system administration. The Ventspils Digital Centre integrated the solution with the national and municipal one-stop customer service centre system, ensuring access also for citizens without digital access or skills.